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Today – we remember.

The 29th Battalion, part of the Second Canadian Division, advances into No Man’s Land through German barbed wire and heavy fire in the right-centre of the Canadian advance on April 9, 1917. (Courtesy Veterans Affairs Canada).

On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, Canadians are asked to pause and remember the thousands of men and women who sacrificed their lives fighting for freedom and democracy during the First World War, the Second World War, the Korean War, the Afghanistan conflict and during peacekeeping missions.

During the First World War, (1914-1918) more than 600,000 soldiers volunteered to go overseas. As of November 2006, Veterans Affairs Canada is aware of three veterans of the First World War who are still alive: P. Dwight Wilson, 105, and Lloyd Clemett and John Babcock, both 106.

These soldiers fought in a series of costly and bloody battles and by the end of the war, more than 69,000 Canadian soldiers had died and 172,000 were wounded.

A Consolidated VLR Liberator provides air-cover for a transatlantic convoy during the Second World War. (Courtesy Veterans Affairs Canada).

They died fighting at Vimy Ridge, Hill 70, Bourlon Wood, Mons, Passchendaele and Ypres. In Ypres, Canadian soldiers were exposed to German gas attacks, yet continued to fight. They showed amazing tenacity and courage in the face of danger….(here for more)

At this link you will find many other stories about what we here in Canada call Remembrance Day, and in America is called Veterans Day. Different names, same focus: remembering and honouring. What follows is a video my friend Don sent me months ago. (You can find out more here.) Again, it is Canadian, but the sentiments are universal. “A Pittance of Time” – for all time. We remember.

A must read: A piece by Debbie Lee, including her son’s last letter home, on NewsBlaze here. And, more on Canadian content in an expanded version (by me.lol) on NewsBlaze here.